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CAIR Official Sued for Defamation

Steven Emerson, the executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, is suing Cyrus McGoldrick, the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations—New York (CAIR-NY), for defamation of character. McGoldrick has a history of making inflammatory statements, including supporting Hamas’s violence and the elimination of the state of Israel.

The lawsuit was sparked by a tweet posted by McGoldrick that states, “Steve Emerson is an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest child pornography case in US history.”

The tweet was mocking the often-mentioned fact that organization McGoldrick serves, CAIR, is designated as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history. Emerson’s complaint states that it “accuses [him] of having committed a vile crime and constitutes libel per se.”

Emerson’s complaint continued, “Although CAIR describes itself as a Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization, members of Congress, various law enforcement agencies and the FBI have described CAIR as participating in funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. An FBI agent has testified that CAIR is a front group for Hamas.”

McGoldrick is one of CAIR’s most radical voices. During the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, he openly supported Hamas’s acts of terrorism. On November 15, he tweeted, “Palestine is a land occupied by foreign settlers. They have the right to resist, to defend themselves ‘by any means necessary.’ ”

On November 16, he tweeted, “Sign of the times: bloodthirsty Zionists trend #HAMASbumperstickers, then erupt when I acknowledge Palestinian right to resist occupation.”

On November 29, he retweeted a quote from Hamas leader Khaled Meshal: “Meshal: Anyone who is bothered by our rockets is welcome to provide us with accurate weapons to fight the enemy.”

McGoldrick supports Hamas’s goal of wiping Israel off the map.

Cyrus McGoldrick

On November 29, he tweeted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Insha’Allah.” That same day, he retweeted a post making it clear that he rejects a two-state solution. “What is urgent and overdue for Palestinians is not a ‘state’ but their rights; ending Zionist colonial rule, and return of refugees.”

He also stood by the side of the Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi when his power grab sparked massive protests, suggesting that the opposition was a puppet of the West and Israel: “Can’t shake the feeling that all this anti-Morsi energy is a last stand by old pro-West/Mubarak/Israel crowd to keep power in judiciary. No?” he tweeted.

Like CAIR as a whole, McGoldrick casts law enforcement as oppressive, bigoted and inhumane. He wrote these two tweets on December 15:

“Maybe I listened to too much Dead Prez growing up, but I can’t accept the liberal ‘ban all guns’ platform. If the cops have ’em, I want ’em.”

“Watching and filming the police is one of the few ways we have to defend ourselves. Start a #CopWatch team in your hood!”

McGoldrick has appeared on Iran’s state-controlled propaganda “news” network, Press TV, multiple times. It’s easy to see why the Iranian regime would book him as a guest. Rather than forcefully defend the U.S. and Western values, he blames anti-American terrorism on America’s foreign policy.